The news agency only cited anonymous “legal sources” as naming retired Marine Gen. James “Hoss” Cartwright as the leaker of the information about what was known as Operation Olympic Games. The operation's primary component, Stuxnet, was a specific piece of malware designed to infiltrate and sabotage Iranian centrifuges.

According to the New York Times’ extensive profile of the entire program in June 2012, Gen. Cartwright was described as having “established a small cyberoperation inside the United States Strategic Command, which is responsible for many of America’s nuclear forces." The general was said to have "joined intelligence officials in presenting a radical new idea to Mr. Bush and his national security team. It involved a far more sophisticated cyberweapon than the United States had designed before.”

Cartwright served as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs from 2007 to 2011 and not only conceived of Operation Olympic Games and Stuxnet, but oversaw its deployment and operation, too.

NBC reported that Greg Craig, the general’s attorney and a former Obama White House counsel, said only, “I have no comment.”

Ars also attempted to reach Craig by phone and e-mail. He did not respond immediately to requests for comment.